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Incident Context: Interference with professional duties

Interference with professional duties

The Court of Appeals did not uphold the appeal in the case of the dismissal of ‘Real Space’ employees

On July 14, Tbilisi Court of Appeals Judge Shalva Kakauridze dismissed the appeal of the employees of “Real Space” (Realuri Sivrce)—a program closed by the Public Broadcaster—regarding their dismissal from the television station.

Ketevan Kapanadze, Ioseb Katsitadze, Tamar Mshvenieradze, Omar Tsotsoria, and Tukha Kvinikadze were demanding the annulment of their dismissal order. The Court of Appeals left the decision of Tbilisi City Court Judge Liana Kazhashvili unchanged.

On April 11, 2025, the Public Broadcaster dismissed the host of “Real Space,” Nino Zautashvili, and the host of “Moambe,” Vasil Ivanov-Chikovani. From May 1, the program “Real Space” was closed, and the contracts of those team members who refused new offers were terminated.

Parliament Suspends Accreditation of “TV Pirveli” Journalist Nata Kajaia for One Year

The Parliament has suspended the accreditation of “TV Pirveli” journalist Nata Kajaia for a period of one year. The Parliament’s decision regarding this was made public by journalist and TV presenter Nodar Meladze.

The reason for the one-year suspension of Nata Kajaia’s accreditation was recording an interview with a Member of Parliament despite their refusal.

The Parliament had previously made decisions against Nata Kajaia twice—first in 2024, and the next time in 2025, when the journalist’s accreditation was suspended for a period of six months.

The tightening of rules for the media in the legislative body began in February 2023. Several security measures were introduced in the Parliament, during which non-accredited journalists are banned from entering the Parliament. Also, it became possible to suspend a journalist’s accreditation based on a Member of Parliament’s request. Furthermore, from January 1, 2026, a new rule for issuing one-time special accreditation came into force, which also created additional barriers for journalists. All these measures have been repeatedly used against journalists.

Parliament Suspends Accreditation of “TV Pirveli” Journalist Maka Chikhladze

The Parliament has suspended the accreditation of “TV Pirveli” journalist Maka Chikhladze. Nodar Meladze, a journalist and TV presenter for TV Pirveli, published a post about this on social media. Chikhladze’s accreditation was suspended for a period of 6 months. The reason was continuing an interview despite a Member of Parliament’s refusal.

“In the last three weeks, three journalists from ‘Shabatis Eteri’ [Saturday Broadcast] Maka Chikhladze, Maka Andronikashvili, and Natalia Kajaia have had their Parliament of Georgia accreditation suspended for 1, 6, and 12 months, based on completely unsubstantiated grounds! When they don’t want to answer questions, the simple solution is to block the journalists,” Nodar Meladze wrote on Facebook.

The tightening of rules for the media in the legislative body began in February 2023. Several security measures were introduced in the Parliament, during which non-accredited journalists are banned from entering the Parliament. Also, it became possible to suspend a journalist’s accreditation based on a Member of Parliament’s request. Furthermore, from January 1, 2026, a new rule for issuing one-time special accreditation came into force, which also created additional barriers for journalists. All these measures have been repeatedly used against journalists.

Parliament Suspends Accreditation of “TV Pirveli” Journalist Maka Andronikashvili

The Parliament has suspended the accreditation of “TV Pirveli” journalist Maka Andronikashvili for a period of one month. Nodar Meladze, a journalist and TV presenter for “TV Pirveli,” published a post about this on social media. The reason for the suspension of her accreditation was continuing an interview despite a Member of Parliament’s refusal.

“In the last three weeks, three journalists from ‘Shabatis Eteri’ [Saturday Broadcast] Maka Chikhladze, Maka Andronikashvili, and Natalia Kajaia have had their Parliament of Georgia accreditation suspended for 1, 6, and 12 months, based on completely unsubstantiated grounds! When they don’t want to answer questions, the simple solution is to block the journalists,” Nodar Meladze wrote on Facebook.

The tightening of rules for the media in the legislative body began in February 2023. Several security measures were introduced in the Parliament, during which non-accredited journalists are banned from entering the Parliament. Also, it became possible to suspend a journalist’s accreditation based on a Member of Parliament’s request. Furthermore, from January 1, 2026, a new rule for issuing one-time special accreditation came into force, which also created additional barriers for journalists. All these measures have been repeatedly used against journalists.

Parliament Suspends Accreditation of “Formula” Journalist Nini Balanchivadze for 6 Months

The TV company “Formula” journalist Nini Balanchivadze has had her Parliament of Georgia accreditation suspended for 6 months.

According to information released by the television company, the Parliament accuses the journalist of violating Article 15, Paragraph 2, Sub-paragraph of the rules for the accreditation of media representatives. This implies, “in case a member of the Parliament of Georgia, an employee of the Apparatus, or a visitor to the Parliament refuses to record an interview, to terminate the interview.”

The explanatory letter sent to the television company refers to a report that aired on “Akhali Formula” on June 23, 2026.

The tightening of rules for the media in the legislative body began in February 2023. Several security measures were introduced in the Parliament, during which non-accredited journalists are banned from entering the Parliament. Also, it became possible to suspend a journalist’s accreditation based on a Member of Parliament’s request. Furthermore, from January 1, 2026, a new rule for issuing one-time special accreditation came into force, which also created additional barriers for journalists. All these measures have been repeatedly used against journalists.

Parliament Denies “Publika” Photojournalist One-Time Special Accreditation

The Parliament has denied one-time special accreditation to Mindia Gabadze, a photojournalist for the online media outlet “Publika.”

In a corresponding application sent to the Chairman of the Parliament on June 16, 2026, “Publika” requested the issuance of a one-time special accreditation for photojournalist Mindia Gabadze for the period of June 22–26, so that he could cover Irakli Kobakhidze presenting his report in Parliament.

A month earlier, on May 21, the Parliament also revoked the one-year accreditation of four “Publika” reporters, including Mindia Gabadze. At the time, the reason given was that the accredited journalists from “Publika” had not visited the legislative body for ten consecutive weeks.

For the same reason, the accreditation of four journalists from “Monitor” was also revoked.

The tightening of rules for the media in the legislative body began in February 2023. Several security measures were introduced in the Parliament, during which non-accredited journalists are banned from entering the Parliament. Also, it became possible to suspend a journalist’s accreditation based on a Member of Parliament’s request. Furthermore, from January 1, 2026, a new rule for issuing one-time special accreditation came into force, which also created additional barriers for journalists. All these measures have been repeatedly used against journalists.

Georgia’s Parliament Tightens Media Accreditation Rules

By order eof the Speaker of the Georgian Parliament, Shalva Papuashvili, changes have been made to the parliament’s accreditation system. According to the amendments, individual journalists who repeatedly violate parliamentary accreditation rules will have their accreditation suspended for up to one year. Additionally, depending on the severity and frequency of the violations, an entire media outlet could have its accreditation revoked for up to a year.

Shalva Papuashvili justified these changes by citing a desire to adopt the practices of the European Parliament. The Speaker initially announced the potential tightening of media rules on May 14. His statement followed the European Parliament’s decision to suspend the accreditation of the pro-government broadcaster “Imedi,” a channel sanctioned by the UK for spreading Russian disinformation.

“Currently, violating accreditation rules in the Georgian Parliament results in a one-month suspension for the first offense, and a six-month suspension for a repeat offense. We have seen that a one-year suspension also exists in the European Parliament. Therefore, we will bring the Georgian Parliament’s accreditation system closer to that of the European Parliament,” stated Papuashvili.

Until now, sanctions for violating accreditation rules in the Georgian Parliament were only applied against individual journalists. Papuashvili noted that the European Parliament also imposes sanctions on entire media outlets; therefore, they will “adopt this experience as well,” making it possible to revoke a media organization’s accreditation for a full year.

The Media Advocacy Coalition views these amendments as a deliberate hindrance to journalistic work. “Under the guise of implementing European Parliament regulations, the Parliament continues to complicate the operations of independent media within the legislative body. Media accreditation mechanisms in the Parliament have already been used against independent media on numerous occasions. This creates a reasonable suspicion that the new regulations will further amplify the risk of selective and punitive approaches against the press,” the organization noted in its statement.

The tightening of rules for the media in the legislative body began in February 2023. Several security measures were introduced in Parliament, under which journalists who are not accredited by Parliament are prohibited from entering the building. It became possible to suspend a journalist’s accreditation simply based on an MP’s request. Furthermore, starting January 1, 2026, a new rule for issuing one-time special accreditations came into effect, creating even more barriers for the press. All of these measures have been repeatedly deployed against journalists.

Formula TV Journalist Verbally Abused by Unidentified Individual

Keti Tutberidze, a journalist for Formula TV’s investigative program “Saturday Formula”, was verbally abused by an unidentified individual.

The incident occurred in the city of Gori, where the journalist was preparing an investigative report on the beating of a citizen by police officers. The broadcast footage reveals that, near the residence of one of the police officers accused of the assault, an unknown individual in a vehicle with tinted windows confronted the journalist. The person defended the police officer while swearing at and verbally assaulting the journalist.

Parliament Revokes Accreditations of “Studio Monitor” and “Publika” Ahead of Schedule

The Parliament of Georgia has prematurely revoked the accreditations of the online publications Publika and Monitori, which were initially issued for a one-year term.

In the May 21 decrees signed by the Head of the Parliamentary Staff, Kakha Okrojanashvili, and delivered to the media outlets, the stated reason for the revocation is the absence of their accredited journalists from the Parliament for ten consecutive weeks during the current parliamentary session (February 5, 2026 – April 17, 2026). Both Publika and Monitor each had four accredited journalists at the Parliament.

The Parliament’s Public Relations Department told Publika that this is the first instance of journalists having their accreditations prematurely revoked under this specific article. This regulation has been in effect since 2023. Monitor plans to appeal the Parliament’s decision in court.

It is worth noting that a non-accredited journalist from Studio Monitori previously faced difficulties obtaining even a one-time pass to enter the Parliament. On February 17 and 19, Monitor journalist Marika Dudunia applied twice for a special one-time pass, but the Parliament denied her requests.

The Georgian Charter of Journalistic Ethics has assessed the incident as a deliberate attempt to restrict journalists from independent media outlets from accessing public information and public spaces, thereby hindering the performance of their professional duties.

“All of this ultimately harms the population of Georgia, leaving them without reliable and verified information on issues of vital importance to them,” the Charter’s statement reads.

An “Achara Times” journalist became the target of aggression while performing their professional duties

According to Achara Times, Sulkhan Meskhidze, the founder and journalist of the online publication, became the target of aggression while covering the election for the head of the Adjara branch of the Union of the Blind.

The publication reports that the incident occurred in the courtyard during the coverage of the election process. While he was performing his journalistic duties, an attempt was made to snatch and smash Meskhidze’s phone. According to the outlet, police officers present at the scene witnessed the aggression and the attempt to confiscate the journalist’s phone, but they failed to react.

Achara Times stated that they were unable to capture complete video footage of the incident, as the recording stopped during the struggle to prevent the mobile phone from being damaged. The publication further noted that representatives of the Union of the Blind also refused to allow journalists to enter the voting area to film the proceedings.